ere's some chance to save
the shop."

"We'll be there ourselves to take a hand in a few seconds!" cried Mr.
Damon, forgetting to bless anything.

"The scoundrel who started this fire, and those back of him, ought to
be imprisoned for life!" declared Mr. Nestor.

A moment later Ned had landed the airship within a short distance of
the shop. In an instant the occupants of the craft had leaped out, and
Tom, after a hasty glance to see that his valuable camera was safe,
dashed toward the building crying:

"Never mind the pails, dad! Use the hose! there's a nozzle at the back
door. Go around there, and play the water on from that end."

Eradicate, with his line of hose, had disappeared into the shop through
the front door, and the others pressed in after him, heedless of the
dense smoke.

"Is it blazing much, Rad?" cried Tom.

"Can't see no blaze at all, Mass a Tom," replied the colored man.
"Dere's a heap of suffin in de middle ob de flo', an' dat's what's
raisin' all de rumpus."

They all saw it a moment later, a smoldering heap of rags and paper on
the concrete floor of the shop. Eradicate turned his hose on it, there
was a hissing sound, a cloud of steam arose, and the fire was
practically out, though much smoke remained.

"Jove! that was a lucky escape!" exclaimed Tom, as he looked around
when the vapor had partly cleared away. "No damage done at all, as far
as I can see. I wonder what the game was? Did you see anything of a
tramp around here?" he asked of his father.

"No, Tom. I have been busy in the house. So has Mrs. Baggert. Suddenly
she called my attention to the smoke coming from the door, and we ran
out."

"I seen it, too," added Eradicate. "I was doin' some whitewashin', an'
I run up as soon as I could."

"We saw the tramp all right, but he got away," said Tom, and he told
how he had taken pictures of him. "I don't believe it would be much use
to look for him now, though."

"Me look," spoke Koku significantly, as he hurried off in the direction
taken by the tramp. He came back later, not having found him.

"What do you think of it, Tom?" asked Ned, when the excitement had
calmed down, and the pile of burned rags had been removed. It was found
that oil and chemicals had been put on them to cause a dense smoke.

"I think it was the work of those fellows who are after my camera,"
replied the young inventor. "They are evidently watching me, and when
they saw us all go off in the airship they th